<center><strong>Jason Varitek: drafted by Minnesota Twins in 1st round (21st overall) in 1993 but did not sign.</center></strong><h3></h3>
<center>Varitek was again taken in the first round in 1994, 14th overall by the Seattle Mariners this time, and went on to have a 15-year career in the major leagues. He was a three-time All-Star, won a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Award, and won a pair of World Series with the Boston Red Sox. less

<center><strong>Jason Varitek: drafted by Minnesota Twins in 1st round (21st overall) in 1993 but did not sign.</center></strong><h3></h3>
<center>Varitek was again taken in the first round in 1994, 14th ... more

Photo: Tim Umphrey / Getty Images

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<center><strong>J.D. Drew: drafted by Philadelphia Phillies in 1st round (2nd overall) in 1997 but did not sign.</center></strong><h3></h3>
<center>Drew actually went three spots lower when the St. Louis Cardinals made him the fifth overall pick in 1998. From there he went on to play 14 seasons in the bigs, making one All-Star team while racking up 242 home runs and 795 RBIs to go with a career .278 batting average and impressive .873 OPS. less

<center><strong>J.D. Drew: drafted by Philadelphia Phillies in 1st round (2nd overall) in 1997 but did not sign.</center></strong><h3></h3>
<center>Drew actually went three spots lower when the St. Louis ... more

Photo: J. Meric / Getty Images

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<center><strong>Jeff Weaver: drafted by Chicago White Sox in 2nd round (62nd overall) in 1997 but did not sign.</center></strong><h3></h3>
<center>Weaver made it into the first round the following draft, going 14th overall to the Detroit Tigers. An innings eater on terrible Tigers teams, Weaver was eventually shipped to the New York Yankees, with whom he lost in the 2003 World Series. He eventually won a ring with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006, and finished his 11-year career with 104 wins, 1,214 strikeouts and seven shutouts in 16 complete games, numbers that surely would be better had he not pitched the better part of his first four seasons in Detroit. less

<center><strong>Jeff Weaver: drafted by Chicago White Sox in 2nd round (62nd overall) in 1997 but did not sign.</center></strong><h3></h3>
<center>Weaver made it into the first round the following draft, ... more

Photo: Kirby Lee / Getty Images

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<center><strong>Chase Utley: drafted by Los Angeles Dodgers in 2nd round (76th overall) in 1997 but did not sign.</center></strong><h3></h3>
<center>Utley improved his draft position 12 months later, going to the Philadelphia Phillies with the 15th overall pick in 1998. He hasn't looked back since, putting together a Hall of Fame career in the City of Brotherly Love. The second baseman is a six-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger while regularly finishing in the top five in WAR. He won a World Series in 2008, and shows no signs of slowing down, as evidenced by his .293 batting average and .794 OPS in his 12th season in the bigs. less

<center><strong>Chase Utley: drafted by Los Angeles Dodgers in 2nd round (76th overall) in 1997 but did not sign.</center></strong><h3></h3>
<center>Utley improved his draft position 12 months later, going ... more

Photo: Rob Carr / Getty Images

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<center><strong>Mark Prior: drafted by New York Yankees in 1st round (43rd overall) in 1998 but did not sign.</center></strong><h3></h3>
<center>The normally big-spending Yankees couldn't buy Prior's way out of a commitment to USC, and three years later the Cubs took him with the second overall pick in 2001. While injuries ultimately ravaged a once-promising career, the proof was in the early pudding for Prior: a 2003 All-Star Game and 18 wins in his first full season. That would be as good as it gets for Prior, who hasn't pitched in the majors since 2006 - when he was just 25 years old. less

<center><strong>Mark Prior: drafted by New York Yankees in 1st round (43rd overall) in 1998 but did not sign.</center></strong><h3></h3>
<center>The normally big-spending Yankees couldn't buy Prior's way ... more

Photo: Jon Soohoo / Getty Images

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<center><strong>Barry Zito: drafted by Texas Rangers in 3rd round (83rd overall) in 1998 but did not sign.</center></strong><h3></h3>
<center>Taken with the No. 9 overall pick in 1999 by the Oakland Athletics, Zito ended up with a pretty impressive 14-year career that included a trio of All-Star Game selections and the 2002 AL Cy Young Award. All told, Zito never started less than 32 games in a season his first 10 full years in the bigs, and ended up with 165 wins to go with a respectable 4.02 career ERA. Oh, and he made an excess of $137 million in his career - not to shabby for a soft-tossing lefty. less

<center><strong>Barry Zito: drafted by Texas Rangers in 3rd round (83rd overall) in 1998 but did not sign.</center></strong><h3></h3>
<center>Taken with the No. 9 overall pick in 1999 by the Oakland ... more

Photo: Denis Poroy / Getty Images

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<center><strong>Drew Stubbs: drafted by Houston Astros in 3rd round (89th overall) in 2003 but did not sign.</center></strong><h3></h3>
<center>An Austin native, Stubbs could have started his pro career in Texas had the Astros stuck to their offer of $900,000. They didn't, he went on to star at the University of Texas, and wound up being taken by the NL Central-rival Reds with the 8th overall pick in 2006. Still in the majors, Stubbs had his best season in 2011 when he stole 40 bases to go with 15 home runs and excellent outfield defense in Cincinnati. Clearly, the jury is still out on him, but now plying his trade in Colorado, his best numbers may be yet to come. less

<center><strong>Drew Stubbs: drafted by Houston Astros in 3rd round (89th overall) in 2003 but did not sign.</center></strong><h3></h3>
<center>An Austin native, Stubbs could have started his pro career in ... more

Photo: Doug Pensinger / Getty Images

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<center><strong>Matt Harvey: drafted by Los Angeles Angels in 3rd round (118th overall) in 2007 but did not sign.</center></strong><h3></h3>
<center>Money was at the heart of Harvey's decision to go to college, and it paid off as he was selected by the New York Mets with the seventh pick of the first round in 2010. In his first full major league season, Harvey established himself as one of the best young pitchers in the game, starting the 2013 All-Star game for the NL and regularly flirting with no-hitters before Tommy John surgery ended his breakout campaign early. Harvey, by all accounts, is set to rejoin the Mets' rotation in time for opening day in 2015. less

<center><strong>Matt Harvey: drafted by Los Angeles Angels in 3rd round (118th overall) in 2007 but did not sign.</center></strong><h3></h3>
<center>Money was at the heart of Harvey's decision to go to ... more

Photo: Jim McIsaac / Getty Images

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<center><strong>Gerrit Cole: drafted by New York Yankees in 1st round (28th overall) in 2008 but did not sign.</center></strong><h3></h3>
<center>Cole spurned the bright lights of New York for three seasons with college powerhouse UCLA before being taken with the first overall pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2011. The young righthander made it to the major leagues in 2013, helping the Bucs end a 21-year playoff drought with a 10-7 record, 3.22 ERA and 100 strikeouts in just over 117 innings. He was even better in the postseason, going 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA and 10 K's in 11 innings as Pittsburgh was eliminated in the NLDS. Clearly, his future is a bright one. less

<center><strong>Gerrit Cole: drafted by New York Yankees in 1st round (28th overall) in 2008 but did not sign.</center></strong><h3></h3>
<center>Cole spurned the bright lights of New York for three seasons ... more

Photo: Denis Poroy / Getty Images

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<center><strong>Jason Kipnis: drafted by San Diego Padres in 4th round (135th overall) in 2008 but did not sign.</center></strong><h3></h3>
<center>Kipnis improved his draft stock in one year, getting selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 2nd round (63rd overall pick) of the 2009 draft, and reached the major leagues just two years later. Since taking over the everyday second-base duties on opening day in 2012, Kipnis has racked up 34 home runs, 184 RBIs and 379 hits while putting up a .750 OPS in 369 games, earning an All-Star nod in 2013. less

<center><strong>Jason Kipnis: drafted by San Diego Padres in 4th round (135th overall) in 2008 but did not sign.</center></strong><h3></h3>
<center>Kipnis improved his draft stock in one year, getting ... more

“Basically, we tried to engage the other side, Casey Close three times today. Made three increasing offers and never received a counter, really they just never engaged, for whatever reason there was no interest. There just didn’t appear interest to sign on their side.

“Very disappointed. I think this is a player we wanted obviously we took him 1-1. You know we would have liked to have signed him and (Jacob) Nix and (Mac) Marshall, all three of ‘em. But you can’t do that without the other side wanting to be a part of it, so we move on.

“We made that offer a while back, the 40 percent offer. But we came up from that three times without ever receiving a counter.”

What was wrong with Aiken’s medical report?

“He’s not a signed player, I still have to abide by Federal HIPAA regulations.”

What next for Astros?

“We’re going to get the second pick next year, we had a good draft class, I think there’s a lot of talent in this draft class and we will re-deploy those resources in a way that helps the Astros.”

How did the team and Aiken get to this point?

“It’s a complicated process, but the end result we reached out today in good faith and made three increasing offers and never received a counter.

“We did nothing unethical, we did nothing disingenuous. We tried to sign good players at the appropriate values and that’s all we ever do with the draft.

“The talent evaluation doesn’t change, we don’t change what we think about the player from a talent perspective. The risk profile changes when you get information that you don’t have when you select the player.”

On having the extra pick (second) next year?

“We’ll have to see how next year’s draft class develops. I think the slots are going up, so we’ll have the equivalent resources to spend in the draft, it’s just going to be next year instead of this year. I think it’s a one-year delay, and when you’re picking a young high school player, the chances of you getting someone next year that beats him to the big leagues is pretty good. I’m not that concerned about it. Obviously our fans are disappointed, we’re disappointed, because you take a 1-1 hoping to sign him, expecting to sign him. And it didn’t happen.”